Social Communication

This part of the SCERTS® Model focuses on helping each child develop spontaneous, functional communication within both adult and child relationships.  It is important to note that all these skills will be easiest for a child to master within the hierarchy of: a familiar adult, an unfamiliar adult, a familiar child and an unfamiliar child.  In addition, in order for our children to learn these Social Communication Skills they will need to be at their optimal level of learning.  This means that their communication partner is using transactional supports to help them understand the social communication they are learning as well as that they are at an optimal emotional state for learning. 

The following is just a little glance at Social Communication through the SCERTS® Model: 

 Behavior Regulation

1)   Requesting Objects/Actions/Activities and Continuation:  Using one word utterances or pointing to the picture symbol with visual and verbal cueing (“fruit”, “ball”, “puzzle”, “more” etc.) within a variety of activities: snack, center time, gym time, etc.  The next step would then be to add more linguistic complexity such as “Mommy more pretzels” and “Mommy I want more pretzels”.

 2)   Terminating Objects/Activities:  Using one word utterances or pointing to the picture symbol with visual and verbal cueing (“finished”) within a variety of activities: snack, center time, gym time, etc.  The next step would be for the child to use the utterance “object/activity + is finished”.

 3)   Protesting: Using one word utterances or pointing to the picture symbol with visual and verbal cueing (“no”) within a variety of activities with children and adults.  The next step would be for the child to use the utterances “no + name” or “no + activity”. 

 Participation Within Routines

1)   Respond to Bids of Interaction:  Responds to bids using actions and then words. For example, when the adult gives them a block they begin to build the tower that the adult is in the process of building.  A higher example would be when a child asks them if they want to play, the child is able to verbally answer “yes or no” with the correct body posture and eye contact.

 2)   Initiate Bids of Interaction:  Initiate bids with adults using actions and then words.  For example, the child gives the adult a block to initiate building a tower.  A higher example would be asking a peer “Do you want to play cars with me?” with the appropriate eye contact and body posture and waiting for the child to respond. 

 3)   Responds to Familiar Social Routines

1. Greetings:  Responds to greetings by waving, saying “hi/bye” and/or pointing to the “hi/bye” picture symbol with visual and verbal cueing with adults and children. 
2. Imitate Actions/Sounds:  Imitates actions and/or sounds within familiar routines without additional cueing such as “Wheels on the Bus” and “Old McDonald”.
3. Anticipate Actions:  Anticipates actions in routines such as “one, two, three, GO” or “Ready Set GO” with words or actions.
4. Responds to comments within Familiar Routine:  Responds to comments within familiar routines such as Old McDonald, Row Boat, etc using words or actions without additional cueing.
5. Turn-Taking:  Responds to turn taking by actions by allowing the play partner take a turn and by words “my turn” within a variety of activities.      

 4)   Initiates Familiar Social Routines

1. Greetings:  Initiates greetings by waving, saying “hi/bye” and/or pointing to the “hi/bye” picture symbol with visual and verbal cueing with adults and children.
2. Familiar Routines:  Initiates familiar routines with adults and children by actions, pictures or words without additional cueing such as building a tower, singing songs, etc.
3. Initiates Comments within Familiar Routine:  Initiates comments within familiar routines such as Old McDonald, Row Boat, etc using words or actions without additional cueing.
4. Turn-Taking:  Initiates turn taking by actions by allowing the play partner take a turn and by words “my turn” within a variety of activities.     

 Joint Attention

1)   Gaze Shift for Social Referencing:  This is when a child looks at an object and then at a person for the purpose of “wow did you see that” or “wow look at that”.  Children may also gaze shift from: person to person, person to object, person to object to person and object to person to object.

2)   Monitor the Attentional Focus of Communication Partner:  This is when a child can follow the focus of their partner by their partner’s eye gaze or their point.

3)   Responds to Comment made by Communication Partner

1. Within a Closed Procedure:  This is when the child responds to a comment by using a one word utterance or points to the picture symbol during an activity.  Such as while reading a book about a farm if the adult says “I see a ______,” then the child says or points to the picture of a “cow” without additional cueing.
2. Answering a Question
3. Within a Declarative Sentence

4)   Responds to Comment and Engages within Conversational Turns

5)   Initiates Comments

1. Within a Closed Procedure
2. Answering a Question
3. Within a Declarative Sentence

6)   Initiates Comments and Engages within Conversational Turns

 Direct Attention

1)   By Pointing:  First by pointing to an object and then pointing to the object coordinated with a gaze shift to the communication partner.

2)   By saying “look”:  First by saying “look” with or without a pointing to an object and then saying “look” coordinated with a gaze shift to the communication partner.

3)   By saying “Watch Me”:  First by saying “watch me” and then using the communication partner’s names “mommy watch me” coordinated with a gaze shift to the communication partner.

 Negotiate Mutual Attention

1)   Secure Other’s Attention by Touching Arm

1. Using Correct Body Posture
2. Using Correct Eye Contact
3. Initiating/Responding to Comments

2)   Secure Other’s Attention by Calling Name

1. Using Correct Body Posture
2. Using Correct Eye Contact
3. Initiating/Responding to Comments

3)   Respond to Other’s Attempts to Negotiate Mutual Attention

1. Using Correct Body Posture
2. Using Correct Eye Contact
3. Initiating/Responding to Comments

 Discuss Clarification

1)   Responds by Repeating the Message

2)   Responds by Rephrasing the Message

Discussing Non-Observable Thoughts and Feelings

1)   Sharing Positive Emotions

2)   Sharing Negative Emotions

3)   Indicating the Need to Move Away or Other’s to Move Away

4)   Requesting Help

 Discussing Past or Future Events

1)   Responds to Comment Made by Communication Partner

1. Within a Closed Procedure
2. Answering a Question
3. Within a Declarative Sentence

2)   Responds to Comment and Engages within Conversational Turns

3)   Initiates Comments

1. Within a Closed Procedure
2. Answering a Question
3. Within a Declarative Sentence

4)   Initiates Comments and Engages within Conversational Turns

If you would like to discuss Social Communication in more length, how it relates to your child and how we can as a team help your child with this process, please feel free to contact your KidSpeak, LLC to set up a time to discuss this at an additional charge. 

 If you would like to learn more about the SCERTS® Model and Social Communication please visit www.SCERTS.com.